Downfall
by Kirii
Summary: Luke confronts Percy in the lobby of his apartment building, with an offer that Percy must either accept or deny. Slash, set before Battle of the Labyrinth.


**Title: **Downfall**  
Rating: **PG-13**  
Pairing: **Luke/Percy**  
Warnings: **V. obvious slash. :P**  
Author's Note: **So, it's my birthday. As a treat for everyone else, I thought I'd write up a little one-shot that's been nagging at me. Set just before Battle of the Labyrinth.**  
Disclaimer: **Riordan owns. Kirii =/= Riordan. Figure that out yourselves, y'all. Lyrics are from "Downfall" by Sirenia.

_I can see you walk out away  
Turn your back on all your feelings  
Seems you're loosing yourself again  
To a void so devastating  
And I can't deny I am the one,  
The one to blame  
For all your loss and your fading flame _

On his walk home from school, Percy Jackson was thinking of (read: dreading) the end of the year finals. He was thinking about the chances he had of scraping a C- on his math final, rather than the F he knew he was going to get on his English final. He was thinking of the way his teachers were going to call him up to their desks, one after another, with the usual 'you have so much potential, Mr. Jackson, I wish you would just apply yourself' speech that every teacher was sure to give, no matter what grade you got in what subject.

As he reached the apartment building where he and his mother lived, his friends and enemies from Camp Half-Blood were so far from being on his mind, they might as well have been part of a dream he'd woken from after falling asleep in his history class. As one might imagine, then, Percy found himself in a state of confusion and surprise when he opened the main door to the building and seeing a familiar, and very unwelcome, figure leaning against the lobby wall.

The last time Percy had seen Luke Castellan, the traitorous son of Hermes had fallen from a cliff, thrown off balance during the fight at Mount Othrys. He'd been so certain that the older demigod had died from the fall, as broken and still as his body had been at the bottom of the cliff. Poseidon had told him otherwise, but it wasn't until that moment that Percy had really believed Luke had survived. Immediately, Percy had his hand in his pocket, ready to bring Riptide out, never mind he was standing in the lobby of his apartment building.

Luke raised his hands in surrender as he pushed off the wall to face the younger demigod. "I'm unarmed, Percy," he swore. "I just came to talk."

"Yeah?" Percy asked, disbelief in voice. "Last time you just wanted to talk, you sicced a pit scorpion on me."

"Are you still mad about that?" There was a grin on Luke's face, reminding the son of Poseidon briefly of the time when he'd thought Luke was his friend. "C'mon, Perce, that was two years ago."

"Oh, I don't know, betrayal isn't something I'd normally let go of." Percy kept his hand in his pocket, fingers wrapped around Riptide. He would never admit it to anyone, much less Luke, that the son of Hermes' betrayal had hurt more than anything else he'd ever felt before. Well, save for when he thought he'd lost his mother forever.

Luke gave a soft sigh and dropped his hands to his sides. Since the last time Percy had seen him, Luke's hair had grown, just reaching above his shoulders. It was kept in a loose ponytail, flyaway strands of soft, sandy-blond locks framing his face. Percy noticed that it looked as though Luke were tired – the older demigod was pale, face worn and eyes soft. As he stood in front of Percy, Luke didn't look like an enemy, just a tired friend that had spent the last couple of years lost, rather than leading the Titan army.

"Please, Percy," Luke said, voice soft. "I just want to talk."

Hesitantly, very hesitantly, Percy let go of Riptide and brought his hand out of his pocket. He took a few steps forward. This was likely the stupidest thing he'd ever done, but when Luke looked at him and spoke that softly, the son of Poseidon had hope that there was still a chance to stop Luke, to bring him back to camp. So, gesturing over his shoulder, Percy led Luke to the elevator and hit the button for his floor. The two of them were silent as they rode the lift up, tension in the air between the son of Poseidon and the son of Hermes.

Again, it was probably the stupidest thing Percy had ever done, but he led Luke to his apartment, digging into his other pocket for his key. Luke didn't move out of Percy's sight, always keeping within the younger demigod's peripheral vision as Percy unlocked and opened the door before gesturing for Luke to go in. The apartment was dark, for Sally hadn't returned yet from work – she'd be gone a couple hours yet – so Percy flipped the light switch as he closed the door behind him.

"Take a seat," he told Luke, gesturing towards the couch in the living room. "I'll grab a couple drinks."

Luke nodded and, as he sat down, he looked as though he was relieved to sit, like he'd been wandering for several days without rest. He slumped back into the couch, body sprawled over it as he seemed to relax. Percy grabbed a couple cans of Coke out of the fridge, dropped his backpack on the floor before he moved to sit on the other end of the couch, handing over one of the Cokes to Luke. The older demigod murmured a thanks and popped the can open, taking a long, slow drink.

"So what brings the leader of the Titans to my apartment building?" Percy asked, just a touch of bitterness in his voice.

Luke paused, gently lowering his can of Coke from his lips. For a brief second, Percy could have sworn he saw the other demigod flinch, but if there was one thing he knew about Luke was that the son of Hermes never flinched; nothing threw Luke off his game, nothing caught him off-guard. Luke was unshakable.

"I came to make an offer," Luke said, voice still soft.

Percy arched a dark brow at him. "What kind of offer?" he asked, skeptically.

Luke paused again, sitting upright and turning to the son of Poseidon. "An end to this," he told Percy. "The war will be over before it truly begins, if you take this offer. I don't make this offer lightly, Perce. But it's my last chance."

"Last chance?"

Luke gave a silent nod, setting his Coke down on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Please, Percy. It won't be an offer I can make again. You just have to trust me."  
Percy hesitated. He didn't trust Luke – no one really trusted a son of Hermes; you trusted them and they would take your wallet first chance they got. However, something about the tone of Luke's voice had Percy urging the older demigod to continue. "What's the offer?" he asked, casually, taking a drink from his own Coke.

"Run away with me."

Percy nearly choked on the soda he was swallowing. He coughed once, twice, then looked at Luke in surprise. "_What_?"

"All you have to do is run away with me, Perce," Luke repeated. His blue eyes focused on Percy's own green ones. "We take the two key players in the war out of the picture. Without me, the Titans can't bring Kronos back. Without you, the Prophecy won't come true."

Percy's eyebrows both shot up. Luke knew about the Great Prophecy? As far as he knew, the only ones he'd heard knowing about it were Chiron and Annabeth, gods aside. If Luke knew the Prophecy, what would that mean for the future? Did Luke understand the Prophecy, in addition to knowing it? "Luke..."

"Perce, please," Luke murmured. "You're my last chance. Part of you wants to, doesn't it?"

Percy opened his mouth for a second before letting it close again. To be honest, part of him _did_ want to run away with Luke. If they were to just _leave_, the chances that war would come would lessen. The Titans needed Luke to lead them, didn't they? And wasn't Percy needed to keep the war from happening? They didn't need to be involved. If they could just go, get out of the picture. But on the other hand, the demigods, friends and family that Percy would be leaving behind...

"Luke, how can I just leave?" Percy asked.

"All you have to do is go with me," Luke replied. "Just grab some clothes, a bag, anything you need. We can live on our own, free from our problems, our destinies, just you and me."

"Like when you, Annabeth and Thalia were on your own?"

Luke nodded again. "Come on, Percy Jackson. What's the downside?" He moved closer to Percy, sliding a hand onto the younger demigod's arm. "We're two of the greatest demigods alive. Between your power and my swordsmanship, there isn't a monster around that would dare mess with us."

Percy hesitated still. Despite his anger towards Luke for his betrayal, his attempts to kill him, part of Percy wished they were still friends, even if that friendship they'd supposedly shared during his first summer at camp was fake, meant to throw Percy off and use him. He wished for the days back when he thought Luke was so cool, nice to him, showing him everything he needed to know about being the new kid at camp. He had to admit, he hoped that the old Luke, that cool, admirable son of Hermes, was still in the older demigod that was sitting next to him, so close to him.

"Just you and me, Perce," Luke murmured, leaning in close, letting his lips come level with Percy's ear, the words he spoke drifting softly into the son of Poseidon's ear. The older demigod's hand slipped down to Percy's thigh. "I know you want that. You and me."

Percy's breath hitched and he pulled away from Luke, looking at him with wide green eyes. Luke moved with him, face closing in on Percy's own heated and red face. "Luke!"

A grin spread over Luke's lips, a sly grin that promised the younger demigod an experience that would otherwise never be turned down. "You can have what you want, Percy," he said, voice suddenly an octave lower as he let his hand slide up the son of Poseidon's thigh. "Just accept my offer."

And before Percy could protest, Luke had those lips, sly grin and all pressed against his own in a warm, firm kiss that sent a shiver up Percy's spine. Percy tried to pull away again, but the moment he did, Luke had moved closer, arms wrapping around the son of Poseidon, bringing the younger demigod to him. Thoughts, emotions were all thrown together as Luke held Percy to the kiss, one hand on the back of his neck, the other pressed against the base of his spine. Percy wanted to fight Luke off, push him away for kissing him suddenly, embarrassed and thrown off by the action. After all, this was Luke – his enemy, no matter how sincere the older demigod acted about the two of them running away.

And how had Luke even known how Percy felt about him, so deep down that it was merely a passing thought that surfaced every now and then? While he wanted to shove Luke away, the son of Poseidon was struggling not to wrap his arms around the older demigod, pull him closer and continue to let Luke kiss him. Even though it was a passing thought, Percy had often wondered, when it surfaced, how Luke kissed, if he was gentle or rough (Percy had always settled for it being a mix, alternating with each kiss).

For a few moments, the two demigods sat there on the couch in the living room of Percy's apartment, enemies at a stand-still as Luke held Percy to him, deepening the kiss and driving Percy mad. Luke's tongue swept over the younger demigod's lips, pushed its way into Percy's mouth to explore and slide inside. And when the son of Hermes broke the kiss, the son of Poseidon gasped for breath, feeling as though he'd been so close to drowning in that kiss.

"Luke..."

"It could be just us, Percy," Luke murmured, forehead pressed against Percy's. "Perce, it could be you and me." He brought his hand from the back of Percy's neck, sliding it down Percy's chest to settle over his heart. "I wouldn't make this offer to anyone else. It has to be you."

"Why me?" Percy asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"It's always been you, Perce. I've always known it would be you. Even before Poseidon claimed you."

Luke leaned in again, letting his lips brush against Percy's ear. "Run away with me, Perce. Be with me," he murmured again before taking the younger demigod's earlobe between his teeth, biting just hard enough to toy with the soft flesh. He relished the soft gasp that escaped the son of Poseidon, loved the way Percy shivered under the touch of the hand Luke still had over his back, fingers massaging along the base of his spine.

Percy gave a soft whimper, eyes slipping shut as Luke continued to toy with his earlobe for a moment before kissing along the curve of neck, nipping and sucking on his way down to his shoulder. His hands found their way up to Luke's chest, resting there for a moment before his mind came back, breaking through the pleasurable feel of Luke's ministrations. He pushed against Luke and pulled away from him.

"Luke...I can't," he said, shakily. "I can't run away with you. I can't be with you."

Luke's blue eyes narrowed, darkening slightly as he looked at the younger demigod. He was silent for a moment, moving away from Percy to stand up, Coke forgotten on the coffee table in front of the couch (Percy had dropped his to the floor when Luke kissed him). The change was so sudden and it felt that not only Luke had changed, but the apartment suddenly seemed colder around Percy.

"Why not?" Luke asked, voice still low, but harder now.

Percy hesitated, pulling his kiss-swollen lower lip into his mouth. "Luke, even if we ran away, the war would still come. I can't just turn my back on the camp. I can't leave the friends I have there. They're counting on me, just as much as I'm counting on them."

"So you reject my offer?"

Percy took a couple of seconds, heart pained as he nodded. "I'm...I'm sorry, Luke."

Luke stared down at Percy for what seemed like an eternity in silence. Percy shifted, suddenly uncomfortable as he looked away from the son of Hermes. The silence continued for another few moments before the sound of Luke's footsteps towards the door echoed in the quiet apartment. Percy lifted his head and stood up, moving to follow Luke.

The older demigod halted, pivoting on his heel when Percy stood only a couple of steps behind him. Those blue eyes that had been filled just minutes ago with hope, longing, perhaps even lust, were cold and hard as he looked at the son of Poseidon. Without a word, Luke grabbed Percy and threw him against the back of the door, silencing the yelp of protest from the younger demigod as their lips crashed together for another kiss, this one rough, with no finesse, just a hard, harsh kiss that relayed all of Luke's anger and disappointment that Percy had not taken up the offer.

"You should have taken me up on the offer, Percy," Luke told him coldly when he broke the kiss. "I told you; I won't be making it again. Next time you see me, remember that."

Percy shakily tried to catch his breath, all of his air stolen by the son of the god of thieves. He braced himself against the door, body held there by Luke's against his. A moment later and his eyes were closed, a silent nod the only acknowledgment of what Luke had just told him. Luke released him, pushed him aside and opened the door to leave, never once turning back.

Percy didn't see Luke again until he began dreaming of the older demigod kneeling in front of the golden sarcophagus of the Titan Lord, Kronos. And upon seeing these dreams, he knew that Luke had spoken the truth; Percy had been his last chance and there would be no further offers.

_On a night that comes without a star  
I fall into darkness  
Like I've done a thousand times before  
I've burned all bridges  
To the treacherous world outside my door _


End file.
